By Le Figaro with AFP
Published 26 minutes ago, Updated 15 minutes ago
Lionel Messi, Inter Miami. MINAS PANAGIOTAKIS / AFP
With 18.8 million euros in salary per year, the Argentinian is the highest paid player in MLS.
Lionel Messi, with an annual salary of $20.45 million (EUR 18.8 million) at Inter Miami, is by far the highest paid player in the North American Football Championship (MLS) in 2024, according to the players union.
The Argentine world champion benefits from guaranteed remuneration of 20,446,667 dollars per year, made up of a base salary of 11 million euros and various bonuses. These figures do not include the considerable revenue the player receives through commercial deals (Adidas, Apple, etc.). The 36-year-old playmaker joined Miami last July from Paris SG on a contract that runs until the end of the 2025 season.
Busquets in the top 3
Toronto’s Italian striker Lorenzo Insigne, the highest paid player in MLS until Messi’s arrival, comes in second with a guaranteed income of €13.25 million Messi’s Spanish Miami teammate Sergio Busquets, a 35-year-old former Barça midfielder, has the third highest salary in the league with 8 million euros guaranteed.
The two other former Barça players currently at Inter Miami, Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez and defender Jordi Alba, each earn 1.38 million euros per year. Still according to the players’ union, which regularly publishes figures for the entire league, the average salary in MLS (Major League Soccer) in 2024 is 546,990 euros.
